DR. DANIEL
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2007
1
19
23
Trip End
Dec 30, 2008
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Brisbane,
Queensland,
Australia
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Age: 24
Job: Veterinarian
Religion: No religion
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My trip through Australia is coming to an end. When did couple of months passed by?! I'm in Brisbane now, staying with an old friend from Bulgaria, who moved to Australia 10 years ago. She's had it with the office work few years ago, and moved on to a job in an animal clinic.
Brisbane is the size of Sofia population wise, but it feels much more spread out, as most people live in houses in the suburbs. We are having beers at the balcony overlooking the back yard of my friends two story house, her son playing with the pet parrot. She is telling me about her new vocation and how much she likes the people she works with. Every day is different, and there's no shortage of fun. The other day, the veterinarian tried to save a little Ginny pig, giving him mouth-to-mouth breathing. He was really stressed out, but the rest of the crew couldn't take a breath laughing.
I have to meet this guy, I say. Call him and ask him if he would give an interview for a Bulgarian magazine. The day after, I sit across Dr. Daniel. He is much younger than I thought. And much hipper. He is wearing a stripped button down shirt and jeans. If it's not for the little badge, I wouldn't have known that he is about to start his shift.
Daniel, what's you favorite animal? A duck, he says. A duck? - I raise my eyebrows. Yes, a duck. I grew up in a suburb of Brisbane and we had lot's of pat animals - gees, chicken, ducks, ginipigs, cats, dogs and a turkey, but my favorite animal is the duck.
Dr. Daniel Drennen B VSc (Honors)
So you grew up in a house full of pets and naturally decided to become a veterinarian? Well, there was a drama before I reached that decision. A car hit my mum's Chihuahua and we took it to the hospital. I was feeling so helpless, I couldn't help. The veterinarian was my hero - he saved the dog, and I decided to follow in his footsteps. I was 12 years old. How long did you have to study to become a vet? Four years, it is actually quite competitive. I graduated from the University of Queensland in 2006 with honors (a shy smile) and have been working for the Highgate Hill Vet. Surgery for the past eight months. Hillgate is an upper middle class neighborhood with an alternative side to it. People with high socio-economic background tend to have pets, which is good for business.
And where is the University of Queensland? Oh, just here in Brisbane. I've never left Brisbane. I've never been overseas actually. Not even to Uluru in the Outback. I'm a forth generation Australian, with a mix of Danish, Irish and German background. But I'm going to Bali (Indonesia) in a few months and I'm really excited about it.
Being a vet, do you like your lifestyle? Ah, yha, sure. I work 11-7 every day and every other Saturday. I go to the gym every day and go out for dinner twice a week. I drive a small Holden (the Australian Ople) and rent an apartment, 15 minutes drive from here in Fortitude Valley, which is a hip youthful neighborhood. Ah, yes, I say, we had a dinner there in a Persian restaurant the other night. On the way to the restaurant we passed by a Nepali, Tibetan, Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greek restaurants. You can't stay hungry over there. Are their any downsides of living in such a central location? Mmm, the only one I can think of is not being able to keep a pet in the apartment, Daniel says. I would've had a cat otherwise.
A-ha, cat person, I hear you don't shy away from misses. I've been told you tried to safe a little ginniepig the other day. What happened? Well, Daniel gets serious, they broth him with a broken leg, so we needed an x-ray. I had to gas him (to put him to sleep), but then his hard stopped, so I had to administer mouth-to-mouth. How on earth do you give mouth to moth to a gennipig? Is there a special tool for that? Not really, Daniel says, I just covered his mouth and nose with my mouth and blew some air. I squint by the though and ask seriously - Daniel, you'd do anything to save an animal, wouldn't you? Anything it takes, Daniel confirms. That's what a call dedication!
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Hugs & Kisses, Vik
